Electric circuit control mechanism



Sept. 14, 1943. c. L. PAULUS ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROL MECHANISM 3Shets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1941 Filed July 25, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Sept. 14, 1943. c. L. PAULUS v ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROL MECHANISM FiledJuly 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mm? M/ 4 viil'i'iC'll III II IIIIIIIII mmM Patented Sept. 14, 1943 UNITED smrss PATENT O-FFICE- 2,329,215nnno'rnio cm'cmcr CONTROL MECHANISM Charles L;'PB,lllllS, Dayton, OhioADplicatiUn'JUlyZS, 1e41, Serial No. 404,023

12 Claims.

tomato. under the act of March 3, 1883, as amefidfl April 30', 1928; 3700. G. 757) Theinvention described herein may be. mann distantbody suchas an airplane, aerial target,.

aerial" torpedo; land or water vehicle, or the like.

An object of the invention is toprovide, in

a device of this character, an arrangement of contactmembers which willhave sufficient yieldabilitytoproduce a wiping engagement yet will be"positive in their engagement and not subject to maladjustment fromdistortion of the parts. Anothenobject is to provide a multiple con-'tact switch mechanism which normally is resiliently biased toapositively located off posie tion' in whichall contacts aredisengaged",v in

order thatnocontacts will be or. remain engaged except by an intentionaleffort on the part of the operator;

Anotherobject" is to the manually operable" selective engaging meansthatseparate-contacts are effected by movement indifferent directions,to the end that the possibility ofsimultaneously making two contactshaving opposite efiectis obviated.

Another objectis to provide simple and effec-' tive adjusting means i orthe switch parts whereby theof! position,--to' whichthe device isnormaliy-eonstrained;-- may be readily maintained.

Another object" is to so design the manually opcrable portion of thedevice that all of its functionsmay be performed without moving: thehands from one position to another.

Another object is to so construct and arrange the control switch anditsoperating means that there willbe no loose or exposed wires on theoutside of the mechanism.

Anotherobje'ct is to so design the manually.

operable" contact making mea'nsthat its sev'eral movements" willreadilybe associated with the results attained-g to the end-thatthelikelihood thattlie operator will execute an unintended.

movement will be minimized.

That these'andother objects and advantageous features are l attainedwill become evident as the-detailed description proceeds, ref

erence being had to the drawings, wherein,-

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view showing the enteriorofan assembled's'wit'ch and its actu- It. is

so construct and arrange.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken at 4-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken at 5-5 of Fig. 3; i V

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section through the control wheel hub. taken at66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section through the contact blades; taken at 17-of Fig;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section through the contact blades; taken at 8'8of Fig. 2-.

Fig. 9 is a perspective View showing one of the contact blades indetail;

Fig. 10 is a perspective. view' showing one of the locating sleevesindetail.

In the drawings, a frame. II is provided with bearing bosses l2 withinwhich arocl: shaft, Iii has limited axial as well as rocking movement.

Substantially .midway between the bosses l2, the shaftis groovedtransversely from the top downwardtotprovide aseat for the" rocking barl6, and in the same axial position; the shaft is grooved transverselyfrom the bottom-upward for a stopmember l8 having a depending portion [9whiclris instrumental in maintaining the normal axial position of theshaft; A single screw 20 extends through a' clearance'hole in the barIG'and into axtapped hole'in the member lfl'to hold'both parts [6 andIS-to'th'esha-ft. A cross hole 22 through the part ifi'facilitatestapping of the member. A wire. 24-' looks" the screw againstunintentional loosening.

Outside and in front of the frame I I, ano-perating wheel ZG'ha-Vingspokes 21 made rim portion 29, is secured to the forward'end'o'i theshaft i4',-the forwardend being taperedas at 28, and the opening in thehub 36 of the wheel being correspondingly tapered and drawn up'ion theshaft taper by the screw 32;. Screw3'i extends into a'tapped hole in thefront end of the shaft. Akey 34 secures the wheel against rotationonthe-shaft.v

Cooperating with the stop meinber'l 8*.(see 'Fig. 5) in maintaining theshaft I4, in'a' normal unoperated position, is a pair of horizontallydisposed sleevesifi (see Fig. 10). These sleevesare slidable in?openings in bosses i2, the openings being below and axially parallel tothe shaft; 1' The outer ends'ofthe' openings are counterbored to alarger diameter, thereby providing a shoulder the couhterbored portionbeing tapped as at 48. Sleeves 36 are provided at their outer ends withflanges 42 which are freely movable within the tapped portion 48. Peelshim washers i are inserted between the flanges 42 and the shoulders 38.Springs 43 urge the sleeves inward until the flanges are arrested by theshim washers. The washers should be of such thickness as will allow theinner ends or the sleeves to just lightly touch the depending portion I9of the locater leaving it freely slidable between the inner ends of thesleeves. Screws 48 have long pilots 50 which extend through springs 45and have slidable bearing in the inner ends of the sleeves at 41 (seeFig. 10). The outer ends of the screws 48 are multiple slotted and anovel wire locking means 52 is anchored in the frame and has its freeend resiliently entered into one of the screw slots. Thus the freedom ofthe rocking movement of the part I9 between the ends of the sleeves 36is governed by the thickness of the stack of shims 44, and the axialmovement of the shaft I4 is limited by the part I9 encountering the endsof the pilots 58 when the shaft is axially displaced against theresistance of the springs 48. The assembled parts 36, 42, 44, 4t, 43, 50and 52 may be collectively referred to as a locater (lo-operating withthe underside of the rocking bar H3, in maintaining the bar in its levelunoperated position, is a pair of vertically disposed sleeves 38 (seeFig. These sleeves are slidable vertically in bored openings in bosses54 in the bottom of the frame II (see Fig. 2). The bosses are bored atthe top to slidably receive the sleeves 35 and counterborcd from belowto receive the flanges 42. Except for being vertically instead ofhorizontally disposed, the vertical locators 5| which co-operate withthe underside of the rocking bar I8 are exactly like the horizontallocaters 5I previously described, which co-operate with the dependingportion I9 of the stop I8.

The peel shim washers 44 of the vertical locaters (see Fig. 2) are madeof such thickness as will allow the upper ends of the sleeves 36 to justlightly touch the bottom surface of the rocking bar I8, whereby the baris normally held in its horizontal position, while the screws 48 are soadjusted that the desired rocking movement of the bar is had when thebottom surface of the bar encounters the upper rounded ends of thepilots 50. Thus it will be seen that the sleeves S5 constitute yieldingstops which define the neutral position of the bar while the screws 48constitute non-yielding stops which limit bar movement to the operativeposition.

The rocking bar I5 carried a series of grounded contact members, which,by rocking or axial movement of the bar by the rock shaft, engageproperly placed insulated contact members carried in the frame.

The rocking bar I8 has longitudinal channels or grooves on the top andtwo sides, as at 55, to slidably receive the grounded contact members 56(see Fig. 9), each of which comprise a plate 58 with a central opening50 and a contact point 62 riveted or similarly secured in the narrow endof the plate.

Near each end the rocking bar I6 has a pair of transverse openings, onehorizontal for a stud 64 and the other smaller and vertical for a stud68 (see Fig. '7 the stud 85 being shouldered with the smaller partextending through the larger stud 64 and the rocking bar I6 and beingriveted at 58.

The grounded contact members 58 fit freely in the grooves 55 and theholes 6|] have considerable freedom over the studs 64 and 58. SpringsIII are held on the studs under an initial stress by the washers I2 andcotter pins 14 to thereby resiliently hold the contact members againstthe bottoms of the grooves.

Bosses I5 extending vertically from the bottom of the frame (see Fig.2), and bosses 18 extending inwardly from the sides (see Fig. 3), aredrilled and provided with press fitted dielectric bushings 80, thebushings being tapped for the threaded insulated contact studs 82.

Studs 82 each have an integral polygonal head 84 by which they may beadjusted, and a jam nut 88 by which they may be locked in the adjustedposition, and, at the extreme outer end, carry a renewable contact point88. Studs 82 may preferably be so adjusted that contact will be madebetween a movable grounded point 82 and a stationary insulated point 88when about half the total movement of the grounded point, as allowed bythe pilot 50 of an adjusting screw 48, has been completed. If the points82 are adjusted in this manner then, after contact is made, furthermovement of the bar I6, either rocking or axial, will produce a lateralor wiping contact between the engaging points. The novel structure foraccomplishing this desirable result is considered one of the meritoriousfeatures of the invention.

Near the upper ends of the rim portions 28 o1 the operating wheel 28 aretwo switches of more or less conventional design. The one on the left isspring biased to a midway or neutral position but operative, preferablywith the thumb, to two other positions one above and one below themidway position. This switch may be called the throttle control switchand may be designated as a whole by the numeral 98. The one on the rightis a substantially conventional tumbler switch having merely an on and021" position. This switch may be called the level flight switch and maybe designated as a whole by the numeral 82.

In order that there may be no loose or exposed conducting wires in thedevice, a unique arrangement for bringing conductors oil of the switches90 and 92 is provided. The rim portions 29 and spokes 21 being hollow,getting the conducting wires from the switches to the hub presents nodifficulty, but getting the wires past the hub, through the frame andout through the conduit fitting 84 requires a special arrangement.

The shaft I4 is provided with a central opening 96 at the rear end, andanother, 88, at the front end, both serving to lighten the shaft, butthe front opening 98 also serving as a wire passage.

The taper portion 28 of the shaft I4 is slotted through and into thepassage 88 as at I88 and I02 (see Figs. 5 and 6), and wires from theswitches 80 and 92 may thus be brought through the hollow passages I04and I06, through the slots I00 and I82, into the passage 98 and outthrough the lateral opening I08 into the frame, from whence it may betaken along with other wires which will be attached to the insulatedterminals 82 out through the opening H8 and conduit fitting 94 andthrough the conduit which is also the supporting column of the device.

In order to form a closed housing around the wires and the operativemechanism, a cover is so-attached to the frame I I as to close the'upperopen portion thereof; The cover ispreferably' made in two parts H2 andH4 which overlap at H5 and are securedto the frame H by screws l=l6-andill8 respectively. I

The auxiliary switch lzn which may also-be called the beam controlswitch is onotainedinanextension l22'of the cover part H 2 Switch I20 isa conventional twopole tumbler switch. The

signal'which controls the throttle, and the switch 92 adapted; whenclosed, to send a signalwhich controlsthe automatic level fiightmechanismof the plane. The switch I26 may be closedbefore the operatingwheel'is grasped, and when the rim portions2-9 of the wheelare-grasped'inth'e hands,

the thumbs-will be in position for operating'the' switches 90 and 92-.

The insulated contacts 82' are 50 connected that those contacts whichare closed when-the wheel 26is pushedor pulled axially-forwarderrearward control the signals for producing'a dive 'or a climbrespectively, while those contacts which are closed when'the wheel isrocked clockwise or anticlockwise control the signals for producing aright or a left turn.

The peculiar shape of the control wheel 26 which is in the form of a Wprovides considerable advantage where the device is used on one planefor controlling the movements of another plane, in that the lap room isconsiderably greater than it is with wheels of conventional design.

Having described the invention in relation to one of its applications, Iclaim:

1. Control mechanism comprising, in combination, a frame, a shaftrockable and axially slidable in said frame, operating means for saidshaft, a rocking bar of rectangular cross section extending transverselyacross said shaft and secured thereto, said bar having channelsextending longitudinally in three of its edges, grounded contact memberseach comprising a plate having a wide end fitted freely in a channel anda contact point at the narrower free end, one each contact member beingprovided at each end of each channel, spring means for resilientlyholding the Wide end of said grounded contact members in said channels,insulated contact members supported in said frame in alignment with, butnormally not touching said grounded contact members, said insulated andgrounded contact members comprising pairs, said pairs being relativelyso positioned that two of the pairs may be engaged by axial movement ofthe bar in one direction from its normal position, two other or thepairs by axial movement of the bar in the other direction from thenormal position, one pair by rocking the bar clockwise from its normalposition and the remaining pair by rocking the bar anti-clockwise fromits normal position, means to resiliently hold the bar in its normalposition, and adjustable stops to limit both axial and rocking movementof said bar to amounts which are somewhat in excess of the movementnecessary to engage the pairs of contacts.

2. The combination, in a control device, of a frame; abar 'in said framearranged to rock about a transverse axis-- move laterally along saidaxis, operating meansfor-said bar, longitudinal channels. in said ban.grounded contact members eaclt havingione endfresiliently heldlin theouter end ofi one oi the: channels: and. the overhanging end: providedwith a contact point", i'nsulatedcom tact points held 1. in said framein position for; en gage-ment: with some: of said: grounded contactpointsawhen said bar is rockeiinsulated contact pointsheld in saidf-rameiin positioni forengagement with some ofsaidgrounded contactpoints when-said bar. is moved axially, resilient means holdingisaidabarto an off" position and'against both: rocking and axial movement, andistops for limitingrmovementvof said bar to an: amount somewhatgreaterthan that necessarytobring therinsulatedi and grounded contactzpoints:together;

31. In .a controlamechanism,,a frame; a bar'supported in; said:frameiso. as: to K be rockable about a transverse axis and movablelaterally in'the direction ofsaid axis,- contact members havingoneiendiresiliently-secured to the endof: the bar and the othe'rendoverhanging and provided with insulated contact points-positioned1insaid frame for engagement a grounded:v contact point,

with said:.grounde'd:contact points; operating means for rocking saidbar, to engage some. ofathe contact points .or' moving. it axially toengage oth'ertof the? contact points, resilient. means holding: the-barto an-0fi"position, andzstopsr limiting: both: the rocking: and axialmovement of the bar to a distance slightly greater than that necessaryto engage said contacts. a

4. In a device of the character described, a frame, a bar rockable aboutan axis transverse to its length in said frame and laterally movablealong said axis, contact points of one polarity resiliently held on thebar near the end, contact points of the other polarity held in the framein position for engagement with the bar contact points, operating meansfor rocking said bar to engage some of the contact points or moving itaxially to engage other of the contact points,

yieldable means for normally holding the bar with all contact pointsdisengaged, and. stops set to arrest both rocking and axial movement ofsaid bar after said movement has progressed slightly beyond the pointnecessary to engage said contact points.

5. In a control device, a frame, a bar movable sidewise in said frameand rookable on an axis parallel to its sidewise movement, contactpoints of one polarity supported near the free end of the bar, contactpoints of the other polarity supported in the frame, one positioned tobe engaged by a bar contact point when the bar is rocked and anotherpositioned to be engaged by another bar contact point when the bar ismoved axially, resilient means normally holding the bar with all contactpoints disengaged, resilient means associated with the contact pointswhereby slight additional bar movement may be had after the contactpoints engage, and adustable stops for limiting said additional barmovement.

6. In a switch mechanism, a frame, a shaft rockable in said frame, a barsecured to said shaft, its length being transverse to the shaft axis,contact members engageable by rocking movement of said shaft and bar,manual means to rock said shaft and bar away from a neutral postion, andmeans to return said shaft and bar to the neutral position whichcomprises two sleeves each having the inner end normally extended so asto be substantially touching the bar, both on the same side but out fromthe rocking axis, and positioned, one to oppose rocking in one directionand the other to oppose rocking in the other direction, and means toprevent said inner ends being extended beyond their normal position,which comprises flanges at the outer ends of the sleeves, co-operatingshoulders on the frame, peel shim washers between said flanges and saidshoulders, and springs surging said flanges against said shoulders.

7. The structure of claim 6 with an adjustable screw extending centrallythrough each said sleeve and positioned to limit rocking movement ofsaid bar away from the neutral position.

8. In a switch mechanism, a frame, a shaft axially slidable in saidframe, a contact carrying member secured to the shaft, the contacts onsaid member being engageable with other contacts by axial movement ofsaid shaft in either direction, manual means to axially move said shaftand member away from a neutral position, and means to return said shaftand member to the neutral position, which comprises a locating part onthe member, two axially parallel sleeves on opposite sides of thelocating part with their inner ends normally extended so as to besubstantially against said locating part and with means for preventingsaid inner ends being extended beyond their normal position, whichcomprises flanges at their outer ends, co-operating shoulders in theframe, peel shim washers between said flanges and said shoulders, andsprings for holding said flanges against said washers.

9. The structure of claim 8 with adustable stops to limit the axialmovement of said shaft and member in either direction away from theneutral position.

10. In a switch mechanism, a frame, a contact member movable in saidframe in two directions from a neutral position, means to move saidmember in either direction, and mechanism for returning said member tothe neutral position which comprises two yieldable stops, one positionedto oppose movement of said member in one direction away from neutral andthe other positioned to oppose movement of the member in the otherdirection away from neutral, resilient means urging said stops towardsaid member, locating shoulders on said stops, co-operating locatingshoulders carried by said frame and peel shims between said stopshoulders and said frame shoulders of a thickness to arrest movement ofsaid stops by said resilient means when said stops substantially touchsaid member.

11. The structure of claim 10 with additional stops for limitingmovement of the member away from neutral in either direction.

12. The structure of claim 10 with additional stops for limitingadditional movement of the contact member away from neutral in eitherdirection after contact has been made.

CHARLES L. PAULUS.

